ISPs make the Internet…Why you don’t want to be one

Dennis Boylan

dennis@eni.net

World Domination:Mission Status

• Internet Acceptance: Established

• Distribution Network: Established

• Corporate Acceptance: Beginning

What are ISPs?

• Internet Service Provider

• Inter-network service provider

• Network Operators

Customer Connections

• Dialup– Analog (v.90)– Digital (ISDN)

• Dedicated– Analog (v.90)– DSL (ADSL, IDSL, HDSL)– 56K, 64K, Fractional DS1, Fractional DS3

Customer Connections continued

• Dedicated (continued)– Bridged– Fractional OC3, Fractional OC12

• Encapsulation– ATM, Frame, POSIP, PPP, SMDS, LAN

(FDDI, Ethernet, Token Ring)

Typical Dialup

Modem Modem

Typical Dedicated

E thernet

Backbone Connections

• DS1• DS3• OC3c• OC12c• OC48c• OC192• OC768

Services

• DNS

• E-mail

• Dialup

• News

• Web

• Caching

NAPs

• Network Access Point

• Connects 2 or more networks

• Public NAPS

• Private NAPS

Major Public NAPs

• MAE-East, MAE-East ATM• MAE-West, MAE-West ATM• Ameritech NAP• SPRINT NAP• PAIX• PB NAP (ATM)• CIX

NAPS continuedMinor/New

• MAE-LA

• SIX

• MAE-Central (Dallas)

• AIX

• Many Many Others

NAP Connections

• ATM– DS1 through OC12c

• FDDI (half/full duplex)

• Ethernet/Fast Ethernet(half/full duplex)

• HDLC/Frame Relay– DS1 through OC3

BGP

• Border Gateway Protocol

• Generates route announcements

• Requires an AS number

• Currently over 10,000 AS numbers

• Provides for access lists

Levels of ISPs

• Tier 1– Present at 2 or more Public NAPS– Own backbone between NAPS– Full peering with all other Tier 1– Does not pay for transit

Levels of ISPs continued

• Non-Level 1– Any ISP that pays for transit– Not all ISPs are equal

Problems with Services

• Hardware failures

• Software failures

• Misconfiguration

• Maintenance windows

Problems with Telcos

• Fiber cuts

• Circuit ordering

• Circuit capacity

• Billing

Problems with Telcos continued

• Maintenance

• Redundancy

• Busy signals

• Circuit Grooming

Problems with Customers

• 7x24 Support

• Billing/collection

• SPAM (UBE)

• Denial of service

• Volume of traffic

Problems with ARIN/InterNIC

• Lost registrations

• Lost changes

• Double billing

• More paperwork

• Time to complete requests

Problems with FCC/Gov’t

• Additional Taxes

• Additional Regulations

• Does not understand the industry

Problem with Facilities

• Power

• Environmental (HVAC)

• Security Access

• Telco Access

Problems with Personnel

• Continual training

• Lack of qualified people

• Cost of qualified people